Do you use goggles in lakes/rivers/sea?

[Echidna]

Hello mers,

now that I've been mermaiding for a bit, I still hate wearing anything in the water except my tail.
I put on a cap and goggles in chlorinated pools to avoid damage on hair, ears and eyes (and frequently spend more time fighting the equipment rather than swimming ;P), and I always look for opportunities to swim in natural waters.
Here's my question to you;
do you think it's imprudent not to use equipment, especially goggles, in lakes and the ocean?

I usually swim rather deep (at least 2m), so to avoid barotrauma to the eyes, I would have to wear a diving mask anyway (man, was I scared after using goggles and then finding out about that :O),
and I would find a huge mask and stuff really distracting and cumbersome when swimming.
On the other hand, most lakes are really dirty and seedy.

Do you use equipment when swimming for fun or practicing, and take it only off for shoots and events, or...?
Would love to hear your experiences.

[Mer_Adella]

I use a dive mask in our river just because there is a lot of boat traffic and nasty water that I want to be sure of where I am swimming. I can't see well in the dark or in water (especially since I can't wear contacts under water) so i like to know of my surroundings. So ....Yes, I wear a dive mask in natural water ( unless its crystal clear water)

[MerEmma]

As someone who is still just doing it as a hobby, I use goggles. If I wanted to be professional or was trying to be professional, I would not personally. If I were swimming in the ocean then I would DEFINITELY wear goggles because I can't stand saltwater in my eyes. I have clear goggles so they aren't as noticeable.

[Mermaid Varshana]

'Round here? Most DEF wearing googles in the local water.

Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga river have caught on fire before. Yes, you read that right...

[Nyx]

I'm perfectly at ease with not using googles in the sea. I use to be very sensitive to it but one day I was able to ignore the sting and get use it. Lakes and rivers I'm iffy about though, specially lakes; every lake I've ever been to was down right gross. Don't wanna expose my eyes to that!

[Blondie]

Even in springs I use goggles. Your eyes have lots of vessels that go straight to your brain. I don't think it's a good idea to swim a lot without protection to your eyes. You can contract something nasty.

[Ashe]

Your eyes have lots of vessels that go straight to your brain. I don't think it's a good idea to swim a lot without protection to your eyes. You can contract something nasty.
Really? I hadn't known that, thanks!

When I swim in my backyard and no one but my family sees me, I always wear goggles. But if I am swimming with kids then goggles are a no no in my opinion. I actually haven't swam in a lake in a while and when I was younger I would never go under cause I was scared of whatever might have been down there :P So can't reply to that.
In the ocean, I have never really swam around unless it was a snorkeling thing where we have to wear masks. When I wade in the waves at the beach, I am able to open my eyes up under the water as the wave crashes down, so I guess I have built up a tolerance to ocean water in that case :)

[Mermaid Pickles]

I used to wear goggles to the beach, but last year I lost mine, and never really got new ones, because I've never found any that actually stay on...ever. Tried on kids' ones even, they fall off. ALso, goggles always leaked really badly for me, even if I had someone adjust them. My head is a funny shape, I guess. I just swim without all the time now, even at the beach. I also have something of a tolerance to ocean water, and I can swim without goggles out there for longer than I can in a pool. I have been to a lake in a few years, so I haven't exactly tested that.

[Mermaid Varshana]

Just a reminder and slightly OT: If you live in the Southern US, do NOT go swimming in any nonchlorinated body of water without goggles or noseplugs in the warmest parts of Summer! That's where and when you're most likely to contract the brain-eating amoeba, N. flowleri, and infections have very, very high mortality rates.

[Mermaid Pickles]

Brain eating amoebas, yum. :D I'll remember this. (don't think I'm not taking this seriously, I've just had one of those days where I discover nearly anything can be funny if you look at it from the right perspective. :D I'm also in a very good mood.)

[Mermaid Varshana]

Well, it IS rare, but it's good to remember so nothing noms on ur squishy braincells.

[Dacora]

In pools no, in the local rivers and lake I used to not but I don't know about this year. We have been in a 7 year drought (i think we have like 2 or 3 years left) and the start of this year our river got e coli in it. It has been washed out after we had a good rain and the river was tested again and is safe but it still really nasty so if I do swim in it this year I will be using goggles. I don't get down to the beach enough to use goggles.

@pickles
I actually had that issue too with goggles. The only kind that stay on and don't leak are Speedo goggles for me.

[Moonflower]

I don't use them if I'm mermaiding, only because I hate the feeling. If I'm scuba diving, of course I do, but even then, I hate the feeling. I have suffered from irritated eyes (blurry vision as well if I've been swimming in the springs for a few hours, but it goes away after an hour or so), but it's never been more than a day or so of tears afterwards, and usually only if I've been swimming in chlorinated water.

[Ariel-Starfish]

I only use them when i'm underwater for a long time and not mermaiding :)

[Winged Mermaid]

I probably should use them more than I do :P Not very much for sure. When I'm just swimming for fun I use goggles if no one's around, but end up taking them off a lot when people come round since I don't want to destroy the illusion. More times than not I use goggles so I can use my swimp3 player. I'll probably end up using them more this summer since I'll be swimming in more lakes!


We've discussed Naegleria fowleri (http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/naegleria/) before, but it's worth bringing up again. Just do your research as to what types of environments it's found and research the lakes, rivers, or hot springs you swim in if possible. It can even be found it swimming pools that aren't well maintained. It isn't found in salt water, though. Kakarotte is right though- it is more frequently found in the south in summer. I recommend reading the FAQ about it from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/naegleria/general.html).

When in doubt, wear a nose plug. It's gets in through water going up your nose.

[AniaR]

Where I live there is literally only one lake that is fed by a spring and is clear enough to see through goggles or not. I am planning on taking a trip up there this summer to get some good videos and footage, it's about 20ft deep. It's also inhabited by GIANT snapping turtles... so we'll see how it goes haha. All the other lakes here are black or green. They're either so full of algae or iron that you just can't see, goggles or not. So I don't get many "underwater" photos. Most of what I have in lakes is just at the surface.

Rivers, I have done fine art nude modelling in- obviously separate from mermaiding. Because it's moving water, very difficult to see through and it's typically shallow anyway. So again, all that modelling is at the surface.

In terms of the ocean, I generally use goggles to scope out where I am modelling- but due to how freaking cold the ocean is here all the time, I never end up going very deep. Again, everything is quite shallow. When I start modelling, I don't use goggles.

In most pools I only ever use goggles when I am training and practising. When I am modelling, performing, or doing a party I don't wear goggles. I have found my eyes adjusted. but I always flush them out with clean water before and after, and I use anti-bacterial drops to prevent infection.

[Echidna]

I'm perfectly at ease with not using googles in the sea. I use to be very sensitive to it but one day I was able to ignore the sting and get use it. Lakes and rivers I'm iffy about though, specially lakes; every lake I've ever been to was down right gross. Don't wanna expose my eyes to that!

this, pretty much.
I'd love to be able to swim without equipment- it feels so much better-, but I'm afraid of dirt and germs.
Chlorine wouldn't bother me either, but when I swam there without goggles, my sight went blurry for a day after awhile :p
Still, I have the same problem as Pickles- no matter how I put them on, goggles leak for me.
They stay on, but I always have water inside, sometimes quite a lot, so I can't concentrate on swimming, but have to constantly resurface and fiddle with the damn things. So annoying!

I'd swim without anything in the ocean too- saltwater isn't as full of bacteria, and it's good for hair and skin.
Too bad I'm living far away from any sea :(

About the braineater amoeba.
That is a really scary thing. They seem to get in through the nose though, not the eyes.
Remember if you use some nose-flushing device that the amoeba can be in tapwater too!

[Patches]

I despise swimming in the pool but sometimes I have no choice. I personally don't use goggles in the ocean or the springs. Sometimes I use them in the pool though.

[Mizuko]

I have to use goggles in chlorinated pools- I can stand the chlorine for only so long before my eyes go bright red and everything looks milky ^^; Not so safe for driving home! haha!
In the ocean, nope. Unless I'm just freediving, then I'll wear some so I can see super clearly. Otherwise its more comfortable without them!

[Echidna]

Right, then I have another question:
what kind of goggles do you use?

Since regular swimming goggles should only be worn to a maximum depth of 3ft, one must use a diving mask I suppose?
But how to equalize when freediving (doesn't equalizing in a diving mask entail breathing inside the mask?)

Since I read up about the goggle-eye problem, I don't even dare to wear normal goggles in the pool.
Was skimming the bottom there :/

[Mermaid Varshana]

Well, I've worn normal goggles at 9 ft without even a hint of a problem. Didn't even know you weren't supposed to wear them past 3ft.

[Echidna]

Neither did I know!
Needless to say, I was very worried (horrified, rather. Supposedly the veins in your eyes can burst and even lead to a retinal ablation!)

I think one should be safe down to 7ft, but still.

[Mermaid Danielle]

I probably should use them more than I do :P Not very much for sure. When I'm just swimming for fun I use goggles if no one's around, but end up taking them off a lot when people come round since I don't want to destroy the illusion. More times than not I use goggles so I can use my swimp3 player. I'll probably end up using them more this summer since I'll be swimming in more lakes!


We've discussed Naegleria fowleri (http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/naegleria/) before, but it's worth bringing up again. Just do your research as to what types of environments it's found and research the lakes, rivers, or hot springs you swim in if possible. It can even be found it swimming pools that aren't well maintained. It isn't found in salt water, though. Kakarotte is right though- it is more frequently found in the south in summer. I recommend reading the FAQ about it from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/naegleria/general.html).

When in doubt, wear a nose plug. It's gets in through water going up your nose.

Huh, I did not know that! Thanks for sharing!

[Mizuko]

I've worn goggles at 15-20foot ^^;
They do equalize, however. Often air esapes from them and they fill up a bit with water, so that takes away the pressure. (personal experience, and I've been diving that depth with them for over a year) however, I do want to get bigger ones. There are some styles that dont have the nose cover (like snorkel ones), which I like. I dont like having my nose blocked off :P

[Kumori Kitsune]

I use a mask and goggles in the pool and shallow clear areas. but to admit it I have a fear of huge fish sadly. The lake I swim in I dont wear a mask or any thing but i do bring a floaty with me. The lake is as deep as 200 or so feet in some places I don't usually swim in those parts, but there are huge fish that live there. like big(over 2ft)it makes me feel safer to just not look.

[Seatan]

But how to equalize when freediving (doesn't equalizing in a diving mask entail breathing inside the mask?)


This is a really late answer, but usually there is no need to add air to the large diving masks when diving. Since a diving mask is much bigger than the tiny swimmer's goggles, so you don't really have to put any air in. In fact, you don't breathe through your nose at all when diving (it makes bubbles come out of your mask if you do!) and the only reason to exhale out your nose during SCUBA is to clear water from a flooded mask.

In masks, the air condenses the deeper you go, and since there is so LITTLE air in tiny goggles, it condenses into practically nothing and sucks at your eyeballs. You have to go really deep in a larger diving mask before it's sucking on your eyeballs, and if you get to that point, it will only take a little air to alleviate that. Equalizing your ears in a diving mask doesn't involve breathing in the mask, either, it involves holding your nose and going through the motion of blowing air out your nose. It can't go through the nose, so it goes out your ears, equalizing them.

In Open Water Dive courses, one of the main things Divemasters get on to new divers about is breathing through their noses. There's no hiding that you're doing it since it means a flow of bubbles around your mask! When you see divers with no bubbles coming out their masks, that means there is no breathing in the mask at all, it is all done by the mouth on the regulator. The main reason for encasing the nose is so you can clear your mask and so you don't get water up your nose. Equalizing the mask itself would only need to be done at very deep depths, probably deeper than most freedivers would venture.

[Echidna]

Equalizing the mask itself would only need to be done at very deep depths, probably deeper than most freedivers would venture.
Good info, thanks.
I read about the mask equalizing on a freediver forum (this is only about the eyes, not ears),
but I guess freedivers go way deeper than the average mermaid :p

Atm, I only have access to pools anyway, and use goggles no problem.
But I'll get a diving mask for the warm season and see how deep I can go
(not too far probably, because my eardrums are sissies) ;)

[SweeteSiren]

Actually, masks should be equalized anytime you begin to feel a pressure difference around your eyes and the surrounding water - which can be as shallow as 6-10 feet. The air you inhale at the surface fills your lungs and your sinus cavity (ears-nose-eyes) and begins to compress as soon as you start to descend. The lungs are compressible, so they will simply deflate as the air is compressed, but the sinus cavity is rigid, which is why you begin to feel pressure in the ears & the mask.
Equalize the mask by blowing slightly through the nose. Equalize the ears by pinching the nose shut & blowing gently until the pressure in the ears releases. When you start to surface, the air will expand & the extra air in the mask will simply escape around the edges.
And caltuna is correct, goggles that don't enclose your nose should never be worn when diving deep!

[MermaidWren]

I never swim without goggles, unless it's on camera. Chlorine is really hard on my eyes, and lake water isn't trustworthy in my opinion, considering how many germs there probably are. I'd rather keep some 5 year old's pee out of my eyes, thanks :P

[Capt Nemo]

Sweetesiren is correct on what the nose pocket is for.

For those having problems with goggles, try a low volume mask like the Scubapro Crystal Vu. (~$80)
http://www.scubapro.com/en-US/USA/essentials/masks/products/crystal-vu-plus.aspx

The big trick is to try one before buying. Fit the mask by placing the mask against your face without using the strap, then inhale through your nose, then hold your breath. If the mask sticks to your face, it fits! If it easily falls off, try a different mask.

I have a moustash and beard, so mask fitting is difficult on many, so a good mask is hard to find. The Crystal Vu fits me well, and is comfortable to wear on the surface without removing.

Do not put your mask on your forehead!!!!!! It is the sign of a diver in trouble, and also the next wave will remove it! Dive shops LOVE this! Put the mask around your neck.

I use a neoprene/velcro strap rather than the silicone. It's a lot more comfortable with a pony tail.

In August, I may be doing a shoot with Morgana, and part of that set will have her raiding a diver's gear for mask and wetsuit top.

[Mermaid Zaffiro]

Just a reminder and slightly OT: If you live in the Southern US, do NOT go swimming in any nonchlorinated body of water without goggles or noseplugs in the warmest parts of Summer! That's where and when you're most likely to contract the brain-eating amoeba, N. flowleri, and infections have very, very high mortality rates.

WaitWaitWaitWait.... This is so scary! I use always googles...But...Nose?Ears? I need to plug all my holes!

[Echidna]

WaitWaitWaitWait.... This is so scary! I use always googles...But...Nose?Ears? I need to plug all my holes!

Indeed.
I've done so for a while now (noseplug, earplugs, goggles), and it makes swimming in chlorinated pools (and dirtier natural waters) so much more pleasant.

Can only recommend it.

[Mermaid Jaffa]

If only there were some kind of mouth plug... You know what I noticed?

I'm the only one that get out of the pool to pee!

[Cordelia]

I picked up a new pair of goggles at Wal-mart about a week ago. I was surprised that they were only about twelve dollars, but pretty high quality and comfortable. I borrowed some from my sister last year and I think she said that she paid about $30 for hers. I usually use them in the pool or lake, since I usually swim with my contacts in.

And I'm with Kumori Kitsune: big fishies kind of scare me, too. I think it isn't as bad when tail swimming, because I know they can't brush up against my bare legs on accident.

[MermaidFaline]

When practising I do use the goggles every now and then. I recently bought myself a new pair because this time I wanted something good.
I can highly recommend Aqua Sphere Mako -Clear Aqua. Easy to adjust, no foggy lens, fits very snug and it's affordable! (€14,99) I love it!

When it gets very crowded I wear them less because I don't want to ruin a kid's dream. And the kids that do ask why I wear them? Chlorine water hurts the eyes of mer that usually lives in the ocean ;) They all understand and sometimes even offer me their goggles to wear instead.

[Echidna]

If only there were some kind of mouth plug... You know what I noticed?

I'm the only one that get out of the pool to pee!

same story, everywhere :(
and know what?
once you've noticed...you never can un-notice!

all those peeps, chatting and laughing, are sitting comfy in the pool for a whole day while you scramble out to go to the toilet 3-5 times in a few hours...yeah :mad:

[Mermaid Jaffa]

There must be something about swimming pools or the large amounts of water that makes me go more than normal!

[Echidna]

There is, it's a natural body reaction whch is more pronounced the colder the water is, iirc.
It has a fancy latin/scientific name too which I have forgotten xD

[Lucinda]

There is, it's a natural body reaction whch is more pronounced the colder the water is, iirc.
It has a fancy latin/scientific name too which I have forgotten xD



Err., frigidobladdorius?



(I made that up :P)

[Lucinda]

If only there were some kind of mouth plug... You know what I noticed?

I'm the only one that get out of the pool to pee!

Bleh! This is going a bit off topic but it reminds me of something I just saw on Scientific American's FB page:
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2014/06/10/dont-go-in-the-water-what-happens-when-you-pee-in-a-pool/?WT.mc_id=SA_Facebook

Apparently, the urine has some odd chemical reaction with the chlorine...

[Arejay]

same story, everywhere :(
and know what?
once you've noticed...you never can un-notice!

all those peeps, chatting and laughing, are sitting comfy in the pool for a whole day while you scramble out to go to the toilet 3-5 times in a few hours...yeah :mad:

In a feeble attempt to make you feel better there are some people in there that length of time that just aren't peeing for that length of time

[Echidna]

rather unlikely over a course of several hours due to said body reaction :/

21710

[Mermaid Galene]

Look at these cool masks!

http://www.sporasub.com/mystic.html?lingua=ING

[Mermaid Galene]

And these: http://tinyurl.com/kv5xocm

[Mermaid Jaffa]

Look at these cool masks!

http://www.sporasub.com/mystic.html?lingua=ING

Ooo! Love them!! I bet they cost 10 times more than my prescription goggles.